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Anthony J. Santella, DrPH, MCHES, was developing curricula, creating syllabi, preparing to start in August as a professor in the University of New Haven鈥檚 Department of Health Administration and Policy, and as the director of the University鈥檚 new Doctor of Health Sciences program.

Then he got a call from Mario Gaboury, J.D., Ph.D., interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, asking him if he would take on the role as the University鈥檚 COVID-19 Coordinator.

His answer was an emphatic yes. His official start date was July 1, but even before that he was jumping right in.

鈥淚 take the responsibility of being the University鈥檚 COVID coordinator very seriously,鈥� says Santella, who has worked for 20 years in infectious disease prevention and control with a focus on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.

鈥楢 24/7 operation鈥�

He is excited to continue the work of outgoing coordinator and former School of Health Sciences Dean Summer McGee, Ph.D., CPH, who was named president of in North Carolina, and to collaborate with his COVID Task Force co-chair Ron Quagliani 鈥�93, 鈥�05 M.S., 鈥�14 M.S., associate vice president of public safety and administrative services, and the University-wide Task Force.

鈥淭here鈥檚 probably no better way to get to know all of your new colleagues than to take on such a public and visible role,鈥� he says. 鈥淲ithin 48 hours, I got to meet everyone in human resources, communications, athletics, and the music department. The Task Force has representation from across the University and it鈥檚 a 24/7 operation.鈥�

He promised the Task Force that he would use his commitment to and expertise in public health and policy, his deep understanding of the scientific process and the use of data, and emerging best practices to guide all decisions.

鈥淲e are working now to see what the fall will look like on campus based not only on data coming out on the local and state level, but also on the data of our stakeholders,鈥� he says. 鈥淗ow many of our faculty, staff, and students are vaccinated? How many students are applying for exemptions? We will also rely on the , , the , and other professional groups to guide our thinking.鈥�

鈥業 will find creative ways to involve students in all of my work鈥�

While navigating the complexities of the COVID response, he will also welcome the first cohort of the University鈥檚 second doctoral program, an online Doctor of Health Sciences. 鈥淭hey are a standout group of practitioners, administrators, and clinicians who will pursue either the educational leadership or healthcare leadership tracks of the program,鈥� he says.

And he will be teaching and continuing his research, practice, and advocacy. Within days of his arrival, Dr. Santella was applying for grant funding for a vaccine hesitancy peer education program that will involve University students. He will continue work on a project with the , interviewing chronically ill people who are experiencing homelessness and analyzing data 鈥渨ith the goal of piloting programs to improve their 黑料社.鈥�

He is also reaching out to stakeholders in Connecticut who work in areas of HIV/AIDS, LGBTQ+ health, homelessness, and incarceration for future research and advocacy projects. 鈥淚 will find creative ways to involve University of New Haven students in all of my work,鈥� he says.

鈥楢 public health case study that came to life鈥�

It was in the second semester of his senior year at , when he was majoring in biomedical sciences, that Dr. Santella was drawn to public health. Courses in community health and healthcare administration led to a 鈥渓ight bulb moment. I thought 鈥榯his is what public health is: It鈥檚 science. It鈥檚 helping people. It鈥檚 advocating for historically forgotten populations,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淚t was what I wanted to do.鈥�

He worked in pharmaceutical marketing after graduating 鈥渂ut it wasn鈥檛 my calling. I needed to find the path to public health.鈥� Within weeks of starting a master鈥檚 program in public health at , he found a job as a health educator at an infectious disease clinic, recruiting gay and bisexual men to take part in HIV vaccine trials.

He went on to get his Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) at and, within six months of arriving, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. 鈥淭hat showed me all the good and bad about our healthcare system and public health,鈥� he says. 鈥淣ew Orleans is a city of great wealth and extreme poverty. When I returned to my apartment, I saw who was coming back to the city, who wasn鈥檛, and who was trapped in the Superdome area for months because there weren鈥檛 enough resources to help people. It was a public health case study that came to life.鈥�

鈥業鈥檓 so happy to be here鈥�

After receiving his doctorate Dr. Santella was hired by the as the director of policy, planning, and implementation for the HIV care, treatment, and housing program. 鈥淚 knew our team had a profound impact ensuring people with HIV or at risk for HIV got the care and treatment they deserved,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey say healthcare is a human right, and that is so meaningful in our profession. Not everyone has that.鈥�

While he loved the advocacy and practice, he didn鈥檛 like the bureaucracy and thought academia would be a better fit. His career as a professor has taken him to , the and, most recently, to . His HIV research, meanwhile, has taken him to India, China, Kenya, the U.K., and Vietnam.

Coming to the University of New Haven represents a kind of homecoming for Dr. Santella, who grew up in Norwalk, the son of two immigrants from Italy. He looks forward to having his extended family close by, to rediscovering the state on morning runs and on walks with his partner and their rescue dog, Coco, and to the breadth and scope of the work he will do at the University.

鈥淚f I was going to make a change, it really had to be worthwhile for my family,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he University is investing in the School of Health Sciences, and they care very much about the safety and well-being of the entire University community and our neighbors. Those were things I felt when I was interviewing and when I was hired. Now I鈥檓 seeing it firsthand. I鈥檓 so happy to be here.鈥�